Toilet training setback with withholding poos after new baby, any advice?

[aw2329]

I’m looking for some advice.
My DS started toilet training just before Christmas last year at 2 and 3/4 years old. He did really well but always struggled a little with his poos - never a problem with pees.
We recently welcomed his brother to the family in May this year when he began to just shout to us that he was going for a poo for a few weeks like it had just clicked.
Then he started to withhold his poos about 2 months ago. He now seems really worked up before going for a poo and we encourage him to use the toilet when we see he ‘needs’. His poos are soft so I don’t believe it’s constipation and we are following all the advice on the ERIC website, along with videos on YouTube about holding in his poo and how it can make it sore.
When I ask him what’s wrong he says the poos are sore, but once he’s done his poo he said it wasn’t sore.
We are a bit stuck at what else to do. Will it click again? Is there anything else we can do to reduce his stress/ anxiety? He always ends up doing the poo on the toilet (occasional accident at nursery) but it’s always a fight and he can say / we can see he ‘needs’ for almost 24 hours before he actually does a poo. I am not keen on laxatives from the docs as the poos seem soft when coming out.
Any advice on what we can do support him? Will he grow out of this as he gets older and understands?

The Poo Goes to Pooland book that you can access online worked like magic for my DS

It sounds like the withholding may have become a bit of a cycle, especially if he’s associating pooing with discomfort. I’d try to keep things relaxed and avoid putting too much pressure on him, while checking with your GP/health visitor if the withholding continues or you’re concerned about constipation.

For the transition away from nappies, SuperBottoms potty training underwear can also be useful as a middle step—they feel more like regular underwear while offering some protection from small accidents.